DENVER – It isn't too difficult to figure out what it's going to take for the MSU Denver baseball team to return to the upper echelon of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
After getting a four-hit shutout from
Jack Slominski in the opener of a four-game series against perennial league power Colorado Mesa last weekend, MSU Denver allowed 49 runs while dropping the next three games.
"It all comes down to whether we can get this pitching figured out," MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain said. "We're trying some different things to see if something can work. Other than when Jack pitched, we just gave up too many runs. We need to see if this group can get it figured out.
"Their bullpens look different than what happens in games when it comes to the location of pitches. It's not a stuff thing."
The venue at UCCS isn't the friendliest place to pitch by any stretch of the imagination, but nonetheless that's where the Roadrunners are scheduled to be for a four-game series this weekend. Currently the series is scheduled for a 3 p.m. single game Saturday, a doubleheader set for Sunday at noon, followed by a 1 p.m. single game Monday. However, game times, dates and venues could change as UCCS attempts to clear its field of snow.
MSU Denver (10-12 overall, 1-3 RMAC) will send out Slominski for the opener with the Mountain Lions (4-16, 1-3).
Slominski, who tied the program's single-season win record last year while going 9-2 with a 5.73 ERA, has been outstanding this season at 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA.
"He's been really good, steady," Strain said. "He's been giving us a chance to win games. We moved him to the first game of the weekend this year to give us the best chance of starting the series on a good note.
"He knows how to pitch, he doesn't make his own messes (with walks and hit batters) and he fills up the (strike) zone."
Another bright spot last weekend came from senior
Brayden Brooks, who allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings of long relief Monday. He has a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings this season.
UCCS started slow this season but played a competitive series last weekend against then-No. 16 CSU Pueblo, losing two one-run games and another by just 6-3.
"They've had a high ERA, but they threw some different guys last week and lost some close, low-scoring games," Strain said. "We're not really sure who will start for them. It will be interesting to see what they do."
